


We Lost Our Child in a Goddamn Ball Pit

by improbabledicks (Strawberry_Hill)



Series: Vaguely-Related Domestic Snippets [4]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Domestic, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-08
Updated: 2014-12-08
Packaged: 2018-02-28 17:22:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2740733
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Strawberry_Hill/pseuds/improbabledicks
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A quick stop on the way home takes an unexpected turn when Eren momentarily escapes his parents' supervision.</p>
            </blockquote>





	We Lost Our Child in a Goddamn Ball Pit

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by a tumblr post: [Do not picture your OTP having a kid and losing said kid in a ball pit. ](http://deaths-chessmate.tumblr.com/post/97313498966/do-not-picture-your-otp-having-a-kid-and-losing) I'm gonna say Eren is around four or five years old in this. 
> 
> As always, you can check out my eruri sideblog at [improbabledicks](http://improbabledicks.tumblr.com/).

Levi yawned as he stared out the car window. His eyes drooped as he scanned the steadily darkening landscape that flashed past in a blur. 

“Tired?” Erwin murmured, his eyes not leaving the road. Levi glanced at him. His face was serene, lit softly by the dashboard lights. 

“A bit,” Levi replied, stretching in his seat and settling in a new position. “It was a long weekend...And your parents can be a bit overbearing.” 

Erwin chuckled. “I’m glad that trait skipped a generation.”

“I like it when you’re overbearing,” Levi muttered, looking down at his hands folded in his lap, a small smile tugging at one corner of his mouth. Erwin grinned, brushing over Levi’s thigh to snag his hand. His thumb skimmed over slender fingers before gently stroking the unobtrusive band on Levi’s ring finger. Levi hummed contentedly, resting the side of his head against the window again. They basked in the stillness the enclosed space of the car offered them, their hands linked between them. Erwin glanced in the rearview mirror.

“Eren’s out,” he said quietly, squeezing Levi’s hand. Levi sat up, twisting to look in the backseat. Sure enough, Eren was fast asleep in his booster car seat, the stuffed animal his grandparents had given him clutched in his arms. Levi watched his chest rise and fall for a moment, his expression softening. 

Erwin yawned, glancing at the dashboard clock. “We’ve still got about an hour to go. Would you mind if we stopped for a break? I could use some coffee.” 

“That’s fine. I wouldn’t mind finding a restroom,” Levi replied, tearing his gaze away from their dozing son and turning back to face forward. “Do you want me to drive the last bit?”

“No, I’m fine,” Erwin assured him. “We just didn’t sleep much last night.”

Levi smirked. “I’m not going to apologize for that.”

“I wasn’t expecting you to.” Erwin disentangled his hand to lightly squeeze Levi’s thigh. Levi swatted his hand away, shifting to fish his phone from his pocket. 

“Ugh, there’s no service out here. Do you know if we’re coming up on anything soon?” he asked, his face lit oddly by the phone’s screen.  

“There’s an exit few miles up ahead,” Erwin replied. “There should be a gas station there, at the very least.” 

Levi wrinkled his nose at the thought of a dirty single-stall gas station restroom. “I’ll cross my fingers for a Starbucks.”

*

There was no Starbucks. 

There were two dingy-looking gas stations, a roadside motel, and a McDonald’s. Without having to ask, Erwin pulled into the McDonald’s parking lot. He parked and hopped out of the car, opening the back door. 

“Eren,” he murmured, leaning over to undo the seatbelt buckle. Eren’s eyes opened slowly.

“Are we home, Daddy?” he asked sleepily, blinking in the dim light. 

“Not quite. We’re taking a little break,” Erwin replied as he gently lifted Eren out of the seat. “Do you have to go to the bathroom?” 

Eren squirmed as Erwin balanced him on his hip to close the car door. “Yeah.” 

“Okay. You can go with Papa, then.” He set Eren down, who ran to Levi and took his outstretched hand. 

Erwin rushed ahead to grab the door for them. “I was just going to get a coffee. Did you want anything to eat?”

Levi shook his head. “No. I want to get back on the road as soon as we can.”

“Papa, can I play in the playplace?” Eren piped up, his post-nap energy appearing to catch up with him as he started to bounce in his shoes. 

“No, sweetheart, those things are dirty,” Levi said. “Come on—let’s go to the bathroom.”

Erwin watched Levi lead their son toward the restrooms around the corner, smiling slightly at the way Eren tightly clutched Levi’s hand, before stepping up to the counter to order. 

*

Erwin was carefully blowing on his hot coffee when Levi returned, frowning.

“Where’s Eren?” he asked. Erwin paused. 

“I thought he was with you,” he said, brows furrowing. 

“He was—” Levi spun around, scanning the mostly empty seating area. “I told him to find you when he was done.”

Erwin groaned. “Okay. He can’t have gone far. Eren?” He called, stooping to scan under the tables.

“You looking for that little brown-haired kid?” An employee wiping down the tables called. “He went into the playplace.” 

“Oh great,” Levi muttered, rushing towards the play area. Erwin followed, thanking the employee as he passed.  

“Eren!” Levi called as he pushed the play area door open, eyes darting around the space. “...Shit,” he said as Erwin came in behind him. 

“What is it?” Erwin asked, alarmed. Levi pointed to the narrow entrance of the massive ball pit, where Eren’s shoes were neatly placed. 

“Eren!” Levi called again as he hurried forward, peering into the ball pit anxiously. “I don’t see him.” 

“Eren, if you’re hiding in there, come out now,” Erwin said loudly, placing a calming hand on Levi’s back. There was no response.  

Levi groaned, turning to bury his face in his husband’s chest. “We lost our child in a goddamn ball pit.”

Erwin rubbed his back with one hand. “It’s okay. We’ll find him.”

“We’re horrible parents.” 

“No, we’re not. I’ll go in and get him,” Erwin said, pulling away. 

“Don’t be stupid,” Levi scoffed, grabbing his arm before he could go anywhere. “You’re way too big. You’ll probably get your fat ass stuck and then I’ll have to rescue you as well.” He kicked off his shoes. “Stay here and drink your damn coffee. I’ll find him.” 

Erwin pursed his lips. “Are you sure? It’s probably dirty in there,” he pointed out. 

Levi grimaced.  “Yeah...I know.”

*

“He’s not here,” Levi groaned. He thought Eren might have been hiding as a game, but he’d waded carefully through the filthy ball pit twice with no luck. 

“Maybe he went into the play structure?” Erwin suggested. 

Levi looked up at the hellish plastic labyrinth above them. It was no doubt riddled with bacteria and kids’ snot. He sighed in defeat. “Okay. I’ll just...yeah. I’ll look in there.” 

Erwin paced below, frustrated at his inability to help, as Levi made his way slowly through the twists and turns of the play structure.  

“Still alive?” he called when he heard a loud thump and a muffled curse from somewhere above him.

“Yeah,” Levi replied. “These things were not— _ugh_ —meant for adults. Eren! If you’re hiding, come out!” he called again, his voice tinged with desperation. Silence. He continued to wiggle through the dirty claustrophobic tube, banging his elbows on the hard plastic. “Do kids actually think this is fun? I feel like I’m trapped in an air duct full of disease.”

“Maybe that’s part of the appeal,” Erwin answered.

“ _Goddammit_ ,” Levi muttered as he hit his knee for the umpteenth time. “Gonna look like I was in a goddamn schoolyard fight...” 

The tunnel appeared to widen in front of him, and he quickly crawled through it to find himself in a small open area that must have been at the top of the structure. 

“Eren!” He scrambled over to the little form laying next to the slide entrance. 

The little boy blinked sleepily. “Papa?”

Levi scooped him up in his arms. “Why did you run off?” he demanded, running a hand over Eren to check him for injuries. “I found him!” he called to Erwin. 

“Is he okay?”

“Yeah.”

Eren looked up at his father with big green eyes. “I wanted to go down the slide but I got tired.” 

Levi sighed. “Okay. But you can’t just run off like that. We didn’t know where you were.”

Eren buried his face in Levi’s neck. “Sorry, Papa.” 

“It’s okay,” Levi said, smoothing his hair. “Come on, let’s get out of here.” He scanned the different narrow tunnels branching off from the space, considering his options. 

“Can we go down the slide?” Eren asked, hopeful. 

Levi peered down the dark tube. It looked wide enough. “Okay,” he sighed. “Here—” he set Eren down and climbed onto the edge of the slide. “Hop up.”  

Eren scrambled onto his father’s lap. Levi wrapped one arm around him and pushed off with the other. They slid down, Eren giggling, and Levi ducking his head to keep from hitting it. 

Erwin was waiting at the bottom. He wordlessly took Eren from Levi, who padded away to get their shoes. 

“Daddy, is Papa mad at me?” Eren asked quietly as he settled in Erwin’s arms. 

“No, of course not,” Erwin murmured, pressing a kiss to his son’s forehead. “Why would you think that?” 

Eren laid his head against Erwin’s chest. “He was upset when he found me.”

“He was just worried,” Erwin assured him, stroking his back. Eren nodded in understanding. Levi returned a moment later and slipped the shoes onto Eren’s little feet, grimacing.  

“I’m taking a shower as soon as we get home. That was disgusting,” he grumbled, shaking his hands as if he could fling the germs from them. “And we’re giving Eren a bath,” he added, glancing at Erwin. They made their way out to the car, Levi immediately going for the hand sanitizer stashed in the glove box. 

“Hands,” he said to Eren as Erwin buckled him into his car seat. Eren obediently held out his cupped hands. Levi gave him a generous amount before dispensing some for himself. He vigorously spread the sanitizer over his hands, and gave some to Erwin, who no longer needed prompting to hold out his hands. 

“Everybody set?” Erwin asked once he’d settled into the driver’s seat, glancing in the rearview mirror. 

“Yes,” Eren called, wiggling to get comfortable. Levi put the hand sanitizer back and shifted to buckle his seatbelt. 

“Let’s go home,” he replied quietly. 

Erwin glanced over at Levi and smiled, squeezing his hand briefly before starting the car.

 

**Author's Note:**

> So this is the last thing I wrote for this domestic series. I really appreciate all the kudos and kind comments I've received!


End file.
